broccoli beer cheddar soup with spicy sausage breadcrumbs.

did u know: i’m famously not a soup person at all.

it takes a lot of fun add-ins and toppings and whatnot for me to want a soup. like pozole, i’m crazy about that stuff because while it is soup, it is chocked full of texture and flavor, and that’s what it’s all about.

a brothy liquid-only soup, though? 96% of the time, you can count me out. unless its a particularly good creamy tomato for a crunchy ass grilled cheese sammich.

topping city!

this will go on top of your soup and add some nice crunch, a little protein, as well as salty num nums and bright lemon zest to round it out.

also what a clever way to disguise large amounts of broccoli.

even tho broccoli, also famously, does not smell great when cooked, this soup as a whole unit smells cozy and scrumptious.

shout out to my beautiful new green staub dutch oven that i got the most screaming deal i’ve ever experienced on this recent black friday. $82, down from $450….can you even believe.

i have used it so many times already! and i stare at it fondly because it is forced to live on the stove top always.

i prepared myself for what i thought would be a WiLd cabin fever snow storm extravaganza here in seattle this week. turns out to be the saddest dusting of snow ever, but still so pretty to look out at.

snow or no snow, i cannot be stopped in my winter obsession with cooking lately. and i’m loving it. hibernation is real.

Broccoli Beer Cheddar Soup with Spicy Sausage Breadcrumbs

Serves 4-6

Total Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients:

Spicy Sausage Breadcrumb Topping:

• 4 slices toasted sourdough or desired bread, pulsed into breadcrumbs in food processor or blender

• 3 - 4 oz. hot ground sausage

• 2 tsp. fresh thyme leaves

• 1 tsp. red chili flakes

• 2 oz. parmesan cheese, grated

• 1 TB lemon zest

• kosher salt & fresh black pepper, to taste

Broccoli Beer Cheddar Soup:

• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

• 1 large garlic glove, chopped

• 1 medium yellow onion, diced

• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

• 2 cups milk (2% milk fat or higher)

• 3/4 cup beer (something lighter with low alcohol - a lager or pale ale)

• 1 1/4 cup vegetable or chicken broth (or sub 1 1/4 cup of water)

• 3 large sage leaves

• 3-4 cups of broccoli florets, stalks included, plus extra florets for topping.

• 3 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese

• 1 TB apple cider vinegar (optional)

• kosher salt & fresh black pepper, to taste

• fresh lemon zest

Instructions-

To make the topping, break up the hot sausage in a large pan over medium heat. Flatten the meat with the back of a wooden spoon to help break down into crumbles for 3-5 minutes until slightly browned. Add the breadcrumbs, red chili flakes, thyme leaves, a big pinch of salt and some black pepper. Continue to break mixture up into bits to brown everything together. Add a drizzle of olive oil if the mixture seems a little dry.

Grate parmesan cheese over the top, and toss to melt. Remove pan from heat and zest a lemon over top, tossing to combine. Set aside.

[*Ideally, you could make the topping while the broccoli is simmering and tenderizing in your soup.]

To make the soup, heat the olive oil in a large pot or dutch oven over medium heat. Add the chopped onion and garlic and cook until translucent, about 3 minutes.

Add the flour and a pinch of salt, stir everything and continue to brown the onion mixture for a couple minutes. Add the beer, broth (or water) and milk and gently stir as everything comes to a simmer. Add the sage leaves into the hot liquid.

Add the broccoli stems and florets to the pot, stirring occasionally and allowing the broccoli to tenderize for about 10-15 minutes. [*This would be a good time to make the breadcrumb topping!]

Remove pot from heat and let the liquid cool slightly.

Carefully pour liquid into a blender (or just use an immersion blender in your pot) and pulse until broccoli and liquid mixture is smooth. Return to the pot on the stove on low heat.

Give the soup a taste and add heavy pinches of salt to taste. If it needs a bit of a punch-up, add 1 TB of apple cider vinegar on low heat and stir.

Gradually add the grated cheddar cheese and stir between additions to melt. Continue to taste the soup and add salt & freshly cracked black pepper as needed, but not too much since you’ll be adding the salty topping still. As soon as you think you need to add one more pinch of salt at the end, zest a bit of lemon into the soup for a nice bit of brightness and flavor.

Scoop the soup into bowls, and top with additional broccoli florets, grated cheddar, and the spicy sausage breadcrumb topping.

Serve immediately! Store the soup in an airtight container in the fridge and reheat as needed. For best results, enjoy the soup and the breadcrumb topping within 2-3 days.

qp

tiny chocolate cake with fresh mint buttercream.

tiny cake, tiny cake!

i always wanna make one of those 9-inch wide 3 layer cakes, but whoa nelly that’s a LOT of cake. i’m only baking for 2 people, so i like making these teeny tiny cakes. if you could see just how tiny this is in person, you’d squeal.

i wanted to make a minty-chocolate-something, but didn’t wanna use peppermint extract as to not make a toothpaste dessert.

fresh mint infused into the butter for the buttercream frosting was just perfect, oh-so subtle and delicate. it’s slightly cooling, too, i think? or maybe i hallucinated that because i knew about the fresh mint in there.

i didn’t know this would have such a wedding vibe in the photos… i was going for wintery freshness. but it’s pretty either way.

sifted cocoa beauty.

^ once the batter gets to this super thick stage, before adding the milk, you’ll think it’s wrong, but it’s right.

i explain in the recipe how to infuse your butter with fresh mint, then quickly get it back to a solid state to whip up your frosting!

^ quick shout out to the amazing muffin top/extreme cake dome that got leveled off to layer this cake. this is my ideal chocolate muffin top texture that reminds me of this chocolate muffin i used to always get at zupan’s market after saturday soccer games growing up. it had the most extremely oversized muffin top and it was so perfectly crisp, so chocolatey, and unforgettable.

any remaining cake batter left over - you can make little muffins! aka cupcakes. that “muffin” i referred to before was certainly just chocolate cake in the shape of a muffin without frosting on top.

bake the “muffins” for less time though, i’d say check them at 20 minutes.

here’s to a teeny tiny, delicate, delicious & indulgent winter dessert that’ll brighten up even the gloomiest of seattle winter days!!!!!

Tiny Chocolate Cake with Fresh Mint Buttercream

Makes One 4-inch Round 3 Layer Cake, or a 9-inch Round Cake

Total Time: 1 hour, Bake Time: 28 minutes

Ingredients:

Chocolate Cake:

(Slightly adapted from B.A.’s Easy Chocolate Birthday Cake)

• 3/4 cup vegetable oil

• 1 1/3 cup all-purpose flour

• 1 cup granulated sugar

• 1 3/4 tsp. baking powder

• 1/4 tsp. baking soda

• 1 tsp. fine sea salt

• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted

• 2 large eggs

• 1 cup milk (I used 2%), warmed

• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

Fresh Mint Buttercream:

• 1 cup unsalted butter

• 1/3 cup whole fresh mint leaves (about 8-12 large mint leaves)

• 2 cups powdered sugar, sifted

• 1/2 tsp. fine sea salt

• 1 TB. milk

Instructions-

Trace the circumference of three 4” cake pans on top of a piece of parchment. Cut out the circles and set inside each cake pan, pen or pencil side down. Spray with cooking spray. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large bowl, combine all dry ingredients, sifting the cocoa powder into the mixture, and whisk to combine. In a separate bowl, whisk the vegetable oil, eggs and vanilla extract. Add the wet mixture to the dry ingredients and stir until a very thick batter forms. Add the warmed milk to the batter and gently stir until it becomes smooth.

Fill the prepared cake pans no fuller than 2/3 full with cake batter. Place on top of a baking sheet to prevent overflow, and bake for 28 minutes, checking with a toothpick around 24 minutes for doneness. Remove from oven and let cool slightly before turning out onto a cooling rack, peeling off the parchment round. Once slightly cooled, turn the cake domed side-up and use a serrated knife to level out the top of the cake so it is flat. Share the cake snack appetizers :)

While the cakes are baking, infuse the butter with fresh mint for the frosting. Squeeze the mint leaves to wake them up a bit and place them in a sauce pan on medium-low heat. Melt 1 cup (2 sticks) of unsalted butter and stir frequently for about 15 minutes. Pluck the mint leaves out and pour butter into the bowl that you’ll whip your frosting in. I poured mine right into the bowl of my stand mixer. Place the bowl into an ice bath and use a spatula to scrape the hardened butter off the edges of the bowl. Gently stir until the butter has returned to a soft solid state, 3-5 minutes. It should be just soft enough to cream the sugar into.

Cream the butter until light and fluffy. Gradually add in the sifted powdered sugar. Add the salt and 1 TB of milk. Beat until the frosting is fluffy. Add 1/2 tsp. of vanilla extract, if desired. To keep the frosting more minty, omit the vanilla extract entirely.

To frost the cake, place one cake layer onto a small cardboard cake round on top of a plate. Plop a scoop of buttercream on the bottom layer (this should be the thickest layer you made) of the cake and spread almost to the edges with an offset spatula or butterknife. Add 2nd layer and repeat. Add top layer, squish and position the cake layers until they’re standing up firmly and straight. Use the offset spatula to spread a very thin layer of frosting all over the cake (this is the crumb coat to hold all the crumbs in before adding exterior frosting). Set plate in fridge for 10 minutes.

After the crumb coat has chilled, use the remaining frosting to spread all over the cake. You can go for a flat look or more swirly, swoopy look as I did with this cake. Use a metal bench scraper to carefully lift the cake off of the plate and onto desired cake stand or serving plate. Garnish with fresh mint leaves. Add chocolate jimmies or sprinkles if desired. Slice and serve!

Cover at room temperature. Enjoy within 3 days.

qp